Monday, October 17, 2011

I was walking back to my truck at 4:45 PM when I observed a dark green DodgeCaravan parked in front of 3941 Kings Way, and a white male adult runningtowards it pushing a blue jogger stroller. The side door of the van opened,and another white male helped load the stroller into the van. The van thenpulled out and turned left on Lasuen, driven by a third white male adult in hismid to late 30's with shaved head, small beard, baseball cap and sunglasses. Icontacted the Sheriff dept to report the theft.

The van's license plate # is CA 3EMM316 [note: follow up indicates this plate is either close, or does not belong to this van], be aware of it in your area, they areapparently are looking for targets of opportunity.

Update on the jogger stroller theft: Sherri with the Sheriff dept. said that the plate came back to a Geo, not a Dodge. she tried a program that will search through plate variants, and didn't find a match. so, if they dumped the plates, we are still looking for a dark green dodge caravan, with mid 30's white males, cruising the neighborhood.

Marijuana Theft

Monday or Tuesday this week there was a theft from a house in the Del Paso Manor neighborhood that resulted in collateral damage to a neighbor's vehicle, (totaled).

The theft was of marijuana plants. The reportedly 13 plants were being grown under California's medical marijuana law, and according to news reports this time of year is harvest time. Over the last month or so, I had noticed the odor of marijuana, but couldn't directly tell where it was coming from. If I could smell it, others could. Details are not all in, but apparently, the thieves were stealing the marijuana, when the grower caught them at it, and started chasing them. During the chase, the thieves' vehicle slammed into the neighbor's car parked in their driveway, "totaling" it.

California law enforcement cannot do anything about cultivation of marijuana. Growers should note that Federal authorities seem to be making an example of California dispensaries at this time, and they may take interest in growers in the future.

If you notice suspicious vehicles or persons loitering around the area and you suspect that marijuana is being grown in your neighborhood, call the Sheriff dept and inform them of this. persons growing more than legally allowed. The police informed me the legal limit is 8 mature plants or 12 immature plants. Grow operations, even small ones, are inviting more disruption and threats to the neighborhood. No matter how you feel about cultivation of medical marijuana, it is clearly an attraction to thieves, so growers and neighbors must be extra vigilant.

Vandalism (Vehicle egging)

A vehicle was egged last night on the 3800 block of Lasuen. This seems to be the time of year for that. If you notice a vehicle with occupants committing this type of act, get a license number and call the Sheriff dept. Property damage (egg can ruin a paint job) might be recouped through civil channels with a police report.

Alarming Alarm Salesman

There is an individual working for the home alarm monitoring company Select Security canvassing the neighborhood. He has been in the neighborhood for a couple of days. I saw him yesterday and got an email about him last night. I talked to him today and explained to him that when he starts asking personal questions about your home security it puts people on guard. I gave him my email address and told him to send me all the information about his company and their promotion and I would include it, in an alert and allow you to contact him.

After I had talked to him, I got a call from another resident about, this person.

His name is Gus Mcguire and he drives a dark grey Infinity,CA lic 5ZXX040.

He wears a white Polo shirt and has an ID hanging around his neck. He is a white male with a tanned complexion, 5'8", 160 lbs, 30ish, clean shaven, and dark hair. He has sent me an email, but I need more information from him before I send it on, like business license number, picture and such. That information will be included in a future alert.

Note: even people doing legitimate business can sometimes use information you provide in a criminal manner later. It may be best let him know you don't give out personal security information but would be happy to listen to his offer.